WinXP does not like a linux MBR as you've noted. Perhaps using the "default" bios settings, a raw partition that is the first on the disk, and a "clean" MBR. You can do this with TestDisk that is part of many utility disks such as the System Rescue CD (http://www.sysresccd.org/). During the setup allow XP to create a NTFS or FAT32 partition. Not sure if this will get you going but it might.

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The plans of the diligent lead to profit...Pro. 21:5VL64 7.1b3 RLU 486143

I did try the three things together, except that the partition I wanted to install windows on was the last one on the disk.Maybe that will work, but it is a bit of a pain to have gparted move every other partition to the "front"... might take hours.

Is this deliberate so that you need to erase your multi-boot capabilities to install Windows??Even if it isn't, surely MS would have found a way to fix it, no?... They keep on surprising me...

AFAIK most of the later (NT-based) Microsoft OSs (if not all MS-based OSs) expect to the first OS on the disk. You could create a small partition to install the boot loader files and then load the bulk of the OS on a different partition. To do this I believe that after you format your partition you can define where you install XP (e.g. C:\Windows or D:\...). With Grub you can "fool" a winOS by hiding other partitions so that it thinks it's first. But if you use lilo and have your winOS's boot files anywhere but the first partition it won't work. As for MS finding a "work around" I don't think that will ever happen...notice the a winOS doesn't recognize most other partition types.HTH,Mike

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The plans of the diligent lead to profit...Pro. 21:5VL64 7.1b3 RLU 486143

Would putting a hidden tag on every other partition work with gparted work? mmm, maybe that's risky.Creatign a small partition in the beginning might be good. Swap is my first partition, I think, maybe I can take some space from it. How big should this be? If it's only a few megs, it's ok....

I think the minimum size for a partition with a Microsoft OS is 8 Mb. I don't know what the minimum size for the boot partition/volume is though. The hard way to find out is to create the partition and start the install process. I did a quick google but did not get a definative answer. As for hiding the other partitions that may not be needed if XP's boot volume is first even if the system volume is elsewhere.

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The plans of the diligent lead to profit...Pro. 21:5VL64 7.1b3 RLU 486143

One thing to check would be a hardware compatibility list for XP. In the past I've had NT4 balk at a Seagate HD. If you can determine what piece of hardware is problematic you could "replace" it long enough to get XP loaded (assuming it's not a vital piece) then put it back in the case and see what XP does with it.Lastly, before giving up you might try a copy of XP without sp2. I have a copy with sp1 that won't load on my old laptop but the copy without a service pack will (I then jump to sp3).If I come up with any other ideas I'll post...

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The plans of the diligent lead to profit...Pro. 21:5VL64 7.1b3 RLU 486143

Thanks a lot for the tips!Indeed, it's a Seagate HD... this is a "refurbished" computer though, and I'm having a hard time tracking down these components on manufacturer's webpages. Hardinfo tells me the model number of the drive but then the specs are a bit different on the Seagate website for this model number.

I also don't have any SP1 cd...

I guess the solution could well be creating a first partition and erasing the MBR...I might get down to moving everything else further down the disk at some point.(Although I've never had bad experiences with gparted, it seems a bit risky to do that. Especially because I was already doing "naughty" things just to install Windows.)For the moment, I'll live with it on VirtualBox. I only need it for a single program and the occasional firmware upgrading of some devices.

One thing you might try (if the CD boot gets far enough) is to try different ACPI settings. The menu for that is available when the 'Press F5 to install additional drivers' prompt comes up. If you press F6 at that stage, you should get a menu allowing different ACPI settings.

I had all sorts of strange problems with an HP laptop at one stage - it would get almost to the partitioning part of the install, then I'd get a black screen and nothing. Took ages to find the ACPI menu.